Peach Belt Conference tournament preview

By Richard Martin (@Ricardo_Knows)
Special To Daly Dose of Hoops

March might be the greatest month of the year if you’re a sports fan, especially if you’re a fan of college basketball. The month begins with conference tournaments, full of teams who know their postseason fate, teams who need help to continue playing, and teams who need a miracle.

While everyone knows about the history of the major conference tournaments such as the Atlantic Coast Conference in Greensboro and the Big East in Madison Square Garden, and even the smaller tournaments such as the Missouri Valley’s Arch Madness, in the southeast at the Division II level, one can argue that the Peach Belt Conference Tournament, especially on the women’s side, has become a must-see event.

What is the Peach Belt Conference?

The Peach Belt Conference is headquartered in Augusta, Georgia, and has teams located in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina. 

The conference was founded in 1990 with just two sports, men’s and women’s basketball, with seven teams. Five of those founding teams still play in the PBC.

Former PBC members include USC Upstate of the Big South Conference, and North Florida and Kennesaw State of the Atlantic Sun Conference. KSU won the 2004 NCAA Division II Men’s Basketball National Championship in its last season in the conference. 

Notable graduates of PBC schools include University of Houston men’s basketball coach Kelvin Sampson (UNC Pembroke) and former President Jimmy Carter (Georgia Southwestern). 

First Round Results

The first round of the PBC tournament was played at campus sites on Wednesday, March 4. Due to the No. 1 seed on the women’s side of the bracket Lander defeating Young Harris, the semifinals and championship game will be played at Finis Horne Arena in Greenwood, South Carolina. 

Men’s Results 

#1 UNC Pembroke defeated #8 North Georgia 90-62

#5 Columbus State defeated #4 USC Aiken 87-65

#7 Georgia College defeated #2 Augusta 85-75

#3 Lander defeated #6 Flagler 83-60

Women’s Results

#1 Lander defeated #8 Young Harris 66-50

#4 Columbus State defeated #5 USC Aiken 75-64

#2 North Georgia defeated #7 Augusta 82-47

#3 Clayton State defeated #6 Francis Marion 71-44

Women’s Preview

#1 Lander

Kevin Pederson is the one of the best college basketball coaches that you don’t know about. 

In his 15 seasons at Lander, Pederson has taken the Bearcats to 10 NCAA Tournaments in the past 12 seasons and the Cats made the Sweet 16 for the fourth time in school history last season, upsetting Pederson’s former school Anderson University on its home court in the second round. 

The Cats began the season with an upset of ACC member Clemson in an exhibition game. After a rough start out of conference, Lander won 16 straight games, including going 9-0 in the month of January. 

Statistically, Lander is lead by senior Tabitha Dailey, who is averaging 15.8 PPG and 7.0 rebounds while shooting a blistering 64% from the floor. Her senior teammate Jessica Harris is averaging 14.9 PPG and has 93 assists, while freshman Zamiya Passmore has burst onto the scene, averaging 14.8 PPG and has lived up to her last name with 123 assists. 

#4 Columbus State

In his first year as head coach for Columbus State, Matt Houser has kept the ship going for the Cougars. 

The Cougars have improved their mark from 16-13 in 2018-19 to 19-8 this season, and are an upset away from their first 20-win season since 2016, when CSU finished 31-2 and won the PBC Championship. 

Junior LeeAysia Williamson leads the Cougs with 16.3 PPG, 61 assists and 61 steals. Senior Aujana Dawkins has shown leadership in her freshman season with 10 PPG and 8.8 rebounds per game. 

#2 North Georgia

The North Georgia Nighthawks are the force to be reckoned with in PBC Women’s Basketball.

Last season, UNG finished 30-5, won the PBC Championship, and made the Sweet 16 for the first time in school history after defeating conference rival Lander. 

This season, the Nighthawks finished 15-0 at home and were one of only two teams to beat Lander in the Peach Belt Conference.

Julianne Sutton leads the team in points with 18.4 PPG, but Abbie Franklin has been a sharpshooter all season long, shooting 41.1 percent from behind the arc. 

#3 Clayton State

The Lakers of Clayton State reached the mountaintop in 2011, going 35-1 and winning the NCAA Division II National Championship. The Lakers repeated as PBC Champs in 2013 and finished 32-1, falling in the Sweet 16.

Since then, the Lakers have come just short of winning the Peach Belt Championship, but have proved that they are the dark horse in the southeast, and have already defeated North Georgia once this season.

The Lakers are lead by senior Taneria Wilson, who is averaging 16.5 points per game and has 105 steals. 

Men’s Preview

#1 UNC Pembroke 

The UNC Pembroke Braves won their first ever PBC regular season championship in school history, going 23-5 and 16-3 in the conference. Oddly enough, however, UNCP won the last PBC Tournament Championship in Greenwood as the No. 2 seed in 2017.

The Braves have done this all with Tony Jones climbing the ranks, first as a student assistant in 2014 and now the interim head coach, winning the title in his first season at the reigns.

Akia Pruitt has done it all for UNCP, shooting a remarkable 52.8 percent from the floor, pulling down 240 rebounds, and soaring through the sky for 36 blocks.

#5 Columbus State Cougars

One of two teams to pull off the upset in the first round of the men’s bracket, Columbus State is looking for revenge for the last time the Braves and the Cougars met in the Peach Belt Tournament, in Greenwood, in the championship game, an 89-77 win for UNCP. 

CSU went just 17-12 in the regular season, but shot 51.5 percent from the field and 40 percent from behind the arc in the Cougars’ first-round upset of USC Aiken. 

Senior Landrius Horton leads the team with 16.5 PPG and has shot a blistering 50.4 percent from the floor. His teammate Anthony Moore also has the hot hand, shooting 55 percent, and has 40 steals.

#3 Lander

The job Drew Richards has done in his first season at Lander is nothing short of incredible. Richards has led the Bearcats to their first 20-win season since 2016, and the Cats are 13-1 in the confines of Finis Horne Arena. 

Juniors Deon Berrien and Sidney Robinson have lead the team in scoring, while Tyler Brevard has helped set them up with 74 assists.

#7 Georgia College 

The biggest upset in the Peach Belt Tournament so far has been Georgia College, who finished the regular season at 13-15, upsetting 21-7 Augusta, 85-75, on the road in the first round. The Bobcats earned their first PBC tournament win since 2009 thanks to shooting 48 percent from behind the arc. 

Jordan Thomas is averaging an astounding 19.3 PPG and has 72 assists.